Out Of Sight
by TR Feigning Innocence
Summary: Sequeal to LoS - Years have passed since boot camp and Kagome has since become a sniper, along with Shippou. Now, near the end of a mission and preparing to go home, they're kidnapped and questioned about the exsistence of a mysterious jewel.


Chapter One:

She lowered the binoculars and rested her head on her arm, taking a deep breath. The heat was oppressive, especially under the cover of the sand colored blankets and the fatigues she was wearing. Beside her Ship said nothing, keeping his eyes on the targets. "I'm so glad this is the last damn day," she muttered and slowly pushed herself up. "You sure you got this for now?"

He glanced at her only marginally, before turning back to the campsite below them. "Go ahead. They gave the signal they wanted to see you. We can't disobey those orders, you know that." He grinned and set his rifle down after a moment to reach out and set his hand on her arm. "I'm good 'Gome. You go on now."

Still, the young woman hesitated before nodding. "Yeah, I know. And you know the signal, if you need me to come back."

That said, she didn't wait for him to respond and let herself slide down the sandy hill so as to not give away their cover to anyone who didn't already know it. Namely, the people they were protecting the scientist from. As she hit the bottom of the dune, Kagome moved quickly in pulling off the blanket from her dirt bike and from there, it was easy going. She moved as quickly as the bike would allow her and raced around the hill and on towards the camp.

Still up on the Dune, Ship had long since turned his attention back to the encampment. He loved Kagome like he would a sister but sometimes she worried too much. He knew it was because he was younger than she was but she always seemed to forget that he was as highly trained as she was and that if anyone needed protection, it would be her. He knew their job often times reminded Kagome of their time at boot camp and the love she'd only realized at the end. Shippou was the only one she'd told and from that day on, he'd vowed to hurt Sergeant Tashio if he so much as even thought about finding the girl. He might have been the younger, between himself and Kagome, but younger or no, he would still do his best to make sure she was safe.

Slowly he moved his scope down around the campsite, dragging it back and forth. He was about to drop the rifle in favor of the binoculars because they were easier to handle as far as scanning the site went, but something caught his eye. There was a flash down in the camp and he cursed. A man went down. "Damn it!" Snarling, he reached down beside him for his radio, prepared to click the response button three times to alert Kagome of what she was walking into, but something slammed into the base of his skull. Pain. Darkness.

o.O.o

As she skidded to a stop in the camp, dirt flying around the tires, Kagome scanned the camp to look for the doctors and scientist. It was odd there weren't any outside. And it put her on edge because just moments before there had been a group of them standing outside one of the tents, arguing. It was the whole reason she'd come down from the dune.

Closing her eyes and biting her tongue to keep her temper in check, Kagome climbed off the bike and let it drop carelessly to the ground. If one of those damned scientist was trying to get her personal attention again, she swore to whichever freaking god that was listening, she'd castrate the ass.

Absently, she glanced up at the dune and was satisfied when she saw nothing. It was always good to know they were invisible from their spot high above the camp. Turning her attention back to the camp, Kagome quelled her temper with thoughts of quotes, some of her favorite. But something caught her eye and taking a step closer to a dark spot in the sand, Kagome knelt to see what it was. Her face went cold when she touched it and her fingers came up red. Pushing herself quickly to her feet, she drew her hand gun and moved quickly to one of the tents. And had to hold back the gag at the sight of the two dead men in the center of it. Moving as fast and silently as possible, Kagome moved to the next tent and the next one, horrified at the number of bodies. All of them. Every single last one of them was dead, executed. Closing her eyes, she shifted into commander mode, the only thing that would keep her from losing it.

"Akkei, get your gear together. We're moving out. Over."

There was nothing but static and patiently, she tried again.

"Akkei, respond with your confirmation, over."

"Akkei---

There was a click behind her and she was too slow. Whoever it was moved quickly, slamming the butt of his gun into her temple. She saw stars and only barely managed to keep her feet. Her arm was jerked behind her and she was forced to her knees; tears sprang to the corners of her eyes from the pain but she ruthlessly quelled them. She wiggled a little, trying to see if there was any room for fighting back, but if she moved any further her arm would be ripped out of its socket.

"I don't think you're friend will be answering any time soon," said a smooth voice and he dropped something beside her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Shippou's blood covered face, even as his eyes fluttered open and he stared at her in dazed confusion.

Pissed beyond belief, she only barely managed to contain it. "What do you want?!"

The man was still behind her and when he stepped out in front of her, she wasn't surprised. He was average of everything, from height and build to appearance. There was nothing out of the ordinary about him and that put her on edge. It was always the average ones that were the most dangerous. He smiled at her and knelt until they were eye level. "The Shikon no Tama."

The name meant nothing to her. She'd never heard anything about it in her life. And she told him so. He slapped her.

"Don't lie to me girl. It won't be fun for you."

Kagome didn't care if it was fun. She couldn't tell him what she didn't know. Her cheek stinging, she spit at him and was satisfied when it landed square in his right eye. He snarled and before she could turn her head out of the way, once again slammed his gun into her temple. This time she went down.

"Tie them up and take them back to the camp. We'll get it out of them in time. And burn this trash dump to the ground."

o.O.o

Two Weeks Later

"Do you really think he'll help?" The man's voice was rough as he leaned back in his chair and stared at the man on the other side of the room. It was rare the two of them weren't at each other's throats. Senata Kouga closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking. Worry lines edged around his forehead, despite his young age.

"He's got to. It's past time he mended fences with her. Freaking idiot…"

Kouga's smile was grim as he opened one eye to glance at his companion. The white haired man was young, in spite of the color of his locks. It was genetics, always had been and it ran in the men in his family. So did the deep golden hazel eyes.

"We've got nothing to force him into doing it," Kouga said quietly, closing his eye again and letting his thoughts wander. "Who's to say he would want to? He's still pissed at us for leaving him in Nepal."

Inuyasha was silent as he stared out the window, his hands in his pockets. The quiet was unusual for the both of them, especially when they were in the same room. Outside the office, the secretaries were on tenterhooks, waiting for an explosion of voices and the righteous yells of their employers. Today, none would come.

"He'll come. Because it's Kagome," Inuyasha said finally, his voice quiet and filled with determination. "He's got to." That said, the white haired man turned and strode towards the door. Slamming it open, he yelled at Kouga's secretary. "Get my bastard brother on the phone!"

o.O.o

Cold splashed over her and she shuddered before harsh reality forced itself back into her mind. Keeping her eyes closed she tried to feign sleep but all he did was kick her in the ribs. She couldn't keep the yelp from escaping. He laughed and knelt down in front of her, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. Again she spit in his face. He let her go and slapped her. She made sure to do it when he wasn't expecting it, this being the only revenge she could take.

"You aren't earning yourself any points my girl," he said, his voice thick and anger-filled. "Be that as it may, it doesn't really matter." He knelt in front of her and once again forced her too look at him. "You aren't leaving me with many choices. So I'll give you one."

Her eyes sharpened at that and she willingly looked at him, paying more attention than she had been only moments before. One of her eyes was black and there was a cut on her lip; the side of her cheek was also bruised but she showed no pain. "What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"You may not have noticed but your friend isn't responding to stimuli." There was grim amusement in his voice now and she hated him for it. "Since he's dying…I'll give you the choice. I'll finish him or I'll start on you."

She didn't hesitate but instead strained against her ropes, leaning towards him. "Me. Leave him alone!"

He smiled at her but there wasn't any kind of joy she could understand. "Very well then." Pointing to the plate she'd upturned in her anger, he smiled again. "You'll need your strength then. I'd suggest you eat that." He left the room.

Closing her eyes, Kagome tried to keep what little bit of temper she had left and crawled slowly forward towards the plate before realizing bleakly that her hands were still bound. Of course they wouldn't untie her; she was sure the evil man torturing them wanted nothing more than to humiliate them, after finding that damned jewel of course. Biting out a curse, Kagome dropped her head to the ground and tried to ignore her growling stomach. Her pride was more important to her, especially as it was practically the only thing she had left.

A few minutes passed where she tried to console herself with dreams of rescue and his disgusting blood spread over the ground. She was so tired, her body exhausted and her mind filled with gruesome images. It would be so easy to fall asleep now. And she could hope for happier dreams, devoid of images of Shippou's pain and his horribly agonizing screams. A few more seconds and she would have drifted off to sleep but a gun shot rang out and it brought her back to full attention.

'_You can chose. I'll finish him or start on you.'_

'_Me. Leave him alone!'_

Pain ripped through her heart and the young woman screamed, using what remained of her strength to push herself up and throw herself against the door. But her body was small and in the three weeks she'd been there, she'd lost weight. The dirty wood barely shuddered under the pressure. Tears streaming down her face, Kagome slid down to the ground again, letting her body fall against the door again as she sobbed. "Shippou…" _'Oh gods….I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!'_

o.O.o

"You know they've been missing for four weeks," a voice said, his words quiet but seething with anger as he restrained himself, his hands fisting at his sides.

His companion said nothing and there wasn't even a perceptible change in body language as he studied Miroku in silence. Finally, the younger man snapped. "Damn it Sesshoumaru! Please! She was a friend to all of us! You have to go help her!"

The golden-eyed man barely raised a brow at the outburst and a small, hardly noticeable dispassionate frown formed. "You have no proof she is even alive."

Miroku closed his eyes and tried his best to keep a hold of his temper and to hide the pain his friend's statement brought. "So then confirm it," he said, his voice thick with clear emotion.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk and let his fingers form a make-shift steeple. "You will keep your agency and the others out of it. If there is any government involvement, I'll leave her where she is."

Miroku closed his eyes but nodded, his expression grim. "Done. Just bring her back." He didn't add that Sango hated him and the fact that the only reason Rin stayed with him was because she felt she had to. He wouldn't care. None of them could understand how he could be so cold and not lift a finger to help a friend so dear to them all.

There was nothing left to say. Biting back an oath, the younger man stood from his seat and left the room.

Unknown to Miroku and all the others though, Sesshoumaru had long since started the process of locating the two missing snipers from the moment he'd been notified they were missing. He picked up the phone and dialed in Rin's number. "Get me Ayn Thackery."

o.O.o

"You should consider yourself lucky," he said, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her head back. "Torture for women usually starts with rape."

She didn't bother to try and spit at him and her voice was too hoarse to even squeak out a few words. She hated giving him the satisfaction of not answering and even more hated letting him know how week she felt at the moment. Closing her eyes, Kagome refused to give him the pleasure of seeing it in her eyes.

He chuckled and let go of her, causing her head to drop and she winced at the action as it jarred her fractured collarbones and cracked ribs. Cuts lined her arms and legs and she was black and blue all over. They'd only started with the torture yesterday so she knew they hadn't started the gruesome stuff yet.

"But you're clearly not going to break with a few scrapes." He stopped in front of her and knelt until he was looking up into her eyes. "Besides…I think it's time we paid the natives back for helping to capture you. Their leader deserves a little bit of fun." With that, he moved quickly and swiped at the ropes binding her wrists and ankles to the chair. He then yanked her up again, grabbing her by the upper arm.

It was the first time she'd been free in weeks and she nearly stumbled as circulation went racing back through her veins, eager to refresh her hands and ankles. He yanked her up and half-dragged half-carried her out of the hut, not bothering to blindfold her. She wouldn't live to see where she was anyway.

The fresh air felt wonderful and she struggled weakly against him, fighting to stay outside as a breeze rushed by. He didn't give her the chance but instead dragged her inside a large tent and pushed her to the ground. "Here she is Rion. She's still got a bit of spirit left in her." The unsaid words were clear. _Feel free to hurt her._

The flap of the tent slipped close like it was a warm summer day, despite the innocuous activities happening inside. Blearily, she looked up at the new person and wasn't at all surprised by how handsome or young he was. On the streets back home he would have been considered the sexy boy next door. But the look in his eyes would have stopped such thoughts in their tracks.

He approached her and after a moment of walking around her like she was some kind of prize he'd just one, he stepped in front of her and set his hands on her shoulders. "You do as I say," he said, his accent thick and the origin unrecognizable to her, "and this will go well for you." With that, he reached down to untie her hands while at the same time moving in to kiss her. She forced herself to be still, to not back up and vomit from disgust. But the minute the ropes were free from her hands again, she bit his lip and slammed her knee upward into his groin.

Without hesitation and ignoring the way her body screamed in revolt, Kagome turned on her heel and raced towards the tent flap. She didn't make it far before his body slammed into hers in a tackle. The ground was hard but his body was harder and her breath wheezed out of her as she hit the warm dirt. Glaring at him, Kagome tried to struggle but he easily pinned her down and before she knew what he was doing, he had a knife to her throat. Instantly she stilled, her eyes darting down to the ugly silver blade pressed to her jugular.

He dragged it down her body without cutting her until he reached her thigh. Quick as a serpent he stabbed her, leaving the knife in only for seconds before jerking it back out. Instantly she screamed and tried to buck away from him, but he was heavy and bigger. He then dragged it further down her leg and slashed into her calf as well.

He slammed his knife into the ground above her head a foot or two and went back to pinning her. "Incase you need discipline again."

Her mind still foggy with pain, Kagome was barely able to pay attention. But he released her hands in favor of running his own down her body. He yanked open her shirt and snapped her bra open, exposing her breasts. "He will like that you are marked," he whispered, his breathing heavy and his hands rough. "And I will enjoy it. You will bow to him in the morning." With that, he bent down and took one of her nipples into his mouth and bit it. Her back arched with the pain and she screamed again, her hands moving upward until her fingers brushed against the blade of the knife but she wasn't quick enough to grab it.

He was panting now and Kagome fought to control her terror but as he moved and bit her other nipple, the scream came just as quickly and just as real as the last one. But as she arched to try and get away from him, she managed to grab a hold of the hilt of the knife and as her body came back down from the arch, she jerked it out of the ground and slammed it into his back at the base of his neck.

It was his turn to scream and she pushed him off of her as quickly as she could. She was dismayed to see she hadn't hit his spinal cord or managed to paralyze him. She crab walked away from him, to distracted by him to pushed herself to her feet and horrified that he still tried to crawl toward her.

But then there was someone behind him, his hands on her attempted rapist neck. With on quick, efficient twist, she heard it snap and he quietly laid the body down on the floor. Letting her eyes trail up to her rescuer's face, she nearly groaned and flashed back to boot camp. _Not this again_. Before her stood Sesshoumaru in all his glory and she couldn't help but wonder if she really was hallucinating again as she had before. "Sergeant?" Her voice was weak, hoarse and it burned her throat to talk.

It was indeed her old sergeant. His hair had grown longer and she could barely see the tail at the back of his neck but that was the only thing that changed. Maybe his eyes were a little older but even that was hard to tell. Great. Just great. She closed her eyes and missed the nod he gave her, to caught up in her ----

"Higurashi."

The word was quiet but it was habit that her opening her eyes and paying attention to the man in front of her. Absently she noted maybe this time it would be better; last time he hadn't spoken to her.

"Can you stand?

It would be hard; she thought she was sore before she entered the tent, but wrestling with her rapist and the stab wounds in her leg made her even more tender than she had been before. But still she nodded and slowly pushed herself up, stumbling as she tried to put weight on her right leg. He tossed something at her but she couldn't catch it and it tumbled to the ground. Moving as quickly as she could, she bent down to pick it up and saw it was a new pair of black cargo pants and a black tank top that matched the pants closely and stuck to her body. She could feel the blood absorbing into the fabric. She was far past modesty and understanding was slowly working its way into her hurting mind. She dropped what remained of her pants and pulled on the new ones, doing the same for the shirt.

Looking back up, Kagome froze as she realized she was alone again and was about to sink back into her depressed stupor before she saw him again, standing in a slit at the back of the tent, waiting patiently for her.

"Let's go Higurashi. The dune buggy isn't that far from here."

She hesitated and glanced back at the entrance where on the other side of the tent, she could hear raucous laugher and just barely see the flames of a fire on through the tent fabric. "We have to kill him," she said, taking a step to the other side.

"Higurashi. I'm here to take you and Akkei back home---

"Shippou's dead. He has to die!"

"We don't' have time for this. We need to be out of here before the charges go." His words were still calm but there was an edge in them and he took a step closer to her. "Let's go."

The threat was there and Kagome knew him well enough to know if she didn't go with him right now, he'd simply either leave without her and let her doom her own fate, or knock her out and toss her over his shoulder. She glared and her throat was starting to burn all the more as she took on more look at the front of the tent. "Promise me. You have to help me kill him. Swear to it!"

He bit out an oath but nodded. "Let's go."

o.O.o

She was dying to ask how much longer, every muscle in her body aching with pain and fatigue. It felt like hours since they'd left behind the encampment but in the back of her mind, she rationalized that it could only have been at most one hour. Even that she wasn't sure of though. And no matter how many times she asked Sesshoumaru, he didn't answer. Kagome was beginning to wonder if she really was hallucinating as she trudged through the harsh night desert and he didn't' answer her questions. Every time she looked up he seemed to be waiting for her, much as he had in the forest all those years ago.

But finally, finally they reached the dune buggy and before she realized what was happening, she felt Sesshoumaru picking her up, her fingers dragging through the sand as he lifted her from the ground. She hadn't even realized she'd fallen. The minute he set her in the seat of the small transport, she closed her eyes and readied herself to sleep.

But an insistent pressure on her arm and his harsh voice in her ears forced her to stay awake.

"Tell me about your mission. Who you protected and why."

"So tired Sergeant…."

"That was an order, Higurashi!"

She glanced at him and in her semi-lucid state she would have swore there was a small quirk in his lips, as if he were suppressing a smile and failing marginally. Forcing her eyes to stay open and cuddling under what she only just realized was a blanket, she began to speak, though the words were slow and hard. "Pakistan. We were protecting a small school from local bandits…"

o.O.o

Her whole body was cold and she barely noticed when hard arms picked her up and carried her a short distance. Vaguely she noted the loud sound of something sliding open and the even louder sound of something starting spin. She felt her hair start to move but just as suddenly something blocked it and she was set on something hard.

"Tir….Serge…."

He noted that comment but said only, "Not yet Higurashi."

She felt his hands on her body, running up and down the length of her as he searched for wounds. He was quick to wrap the ones on her legs, though his eyes lingered on the scars from her survival stint in boot camp. She could feel the anger in his hands as he put antiseptic on the bite marks on his breasts. She was so close to going to sleep. As his fingers coursed through her hair, gently feeling her scalp for any sign of injury. It wasn't until he moved to completely remove her clothing that she froze and jerked to attention. Instincts had her grabbing his wrist as it moved to slip her shirt up over her neck. Even in her dazed state she could see the surprise in her Sergeants eyes before he masked it quickly.

"It's the only way to get you completely warm Higurashi." He didn't mention that he knew better than to let his desire for her get in the way of what needed to be done.

After a moment, she consented and let go of his wrist. Within minutes they were both naked and he was sitting behind her, his arms wrapped around her as they lay under the blankets. He could tell she was close to sleep but there was one thing he had to know. "What is his name, Higurashi?"

Once again she stiffed and he could tell she was shifting into memories of what had happened. It made him want to kill this unknown enemy all the more. "Onigumo."

Chap. _Fin._

o.O.o

A/N - So I know I said I was going to wait to get this up until I'd finished all my other stories, but this has been itching at me for months now so I decided to go ahead and get it out of the way. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this part of the story as much as they did the first. *glances at my reviewers* And now I'll go work on other stories so I don't get flogged. xD


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